Scenarios of Transformation for a Public Sector Environmental Organization

The Institute for Water Resources (IWR) is a US government agency dedicated to anticipating and analyzing changing water resources management conditions. As the impacts of climate change accelerated, the organization needed to reimagine its long-term future identity as one responsible for addressing complexly interrelated economic, social, institutional, and environmental needs in water resources planning and policy. One of WhiteLabel’s partners was engaged to design and facilitate a series of strategic dialogues built around alternative scenarios of IWR’s future. We facilitated IWR senior leaders and executives from key stakeholder groups through identifying essential choices with respect to anticipated challenges and opportunities. The outcome was a framework of actions (changes to staff composition, new partnerships, innovative new funding models, and more) to transition IWR to a future role that could deliver new forms of value to stakeholders across the range of scenarios.